By John Chola
President Hakainde Hichilema will on Thursday leave for Dar-es-Salaam, Tanzania to attend the 60th Anniversary of the Union Day, scheduled for April 26, 2024.
The trip is at the invitation of President Dr. Samia Suluhu Hassan, this commemorative event marks 60 years since the successful union of the Republic of Tanganyika and the People’s Republic of Zanzibar, culminating in the birth of the United Republic of Tanzania.
While in Tanzania, President Hichilema will hold bilateral talks with President Hassan, addressing pertinent matters of mutual interest.
Acting Foreign Affairs and International Corporation Minister Mulambo Haimbe, said in a statement that the discussions between the two leaders will serve to build on the State Visit undertaken to Zambia by President Hassan in October 2023, and allow for further consolidation of ties between the two countries.
Zambia and Tanzania enjoy longstanding bonds of friendship, with bilateral relations firmly grounded in their shared history of the liberation struggle of Southern Africa.
The two countries collaborate extensively across social, political, and economic spheres, within the framework of the Joint Permanent Commission of Cooperation.
Haimbe said that Zambia will therefore continue to collaborate with Tanzania, ensuring that the two countries support each other, at regional, continental and international levels through the United Nations, the
Commonwealth, the African Union, the Southern African Development Community and the International Conference on the Great Lakes Region.
President Hichilema is expected to return to Zambia immediately after his engagements.
During Independence cerebrations which she graced, President Hassan announced the Tanzanian government’s move to allocate 20 hectares of land at the Kwala Dry Port in the Coast region that will be dedicated for consignments destined for Zambia to ease business between the two SADC member states.
